Reeds for looms



Aug. 25 959 F. H. KAUFMANN I 2,901,004

REEDS FOR LOOMS Filed Jan. 7, 1957 I j, if I A? I? X 2 /7 /f INVENTORFrvuuf fa 20 United States Patent ice REEDS FOR LOOMS Frank H. Kaufmann,Huntingdon Valley, Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 7,1957, Serial No. 632,886

3 Claims. (Cl. 139-192) This invention relates to reeds for looms, andmore particularly to reeds of the so-called pitch band type, in whichthe reed dents are made of thin flat strips of metal, the upper andlower ends of which are bound between strips of wood, usually ofapproximately semicircular cross-section, which strips are bound to eachother, and the spacing of the dents is secured and maintained by thewinding of a pitch impregnated cord or twine passing between thesuccessive dents and over the outside surfaces of the wooden strips. Theupper and lower end portions are also usually encased within protectingshells of paper, cloth, or the like.

However, reeds constructed as aforesaid may be easily damaged, and whenonce bent or deformed, the same cannot thereafter be used in a loom forthe best work.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a pitch bandreed which will be more durable and rigid in its construction than thosepreviously available, whereby the same will have a much greaterlongevity, and this without material increase in the cost of making thesame.

It has heretofore been suggested to provide grooves in the outerportions of the wooden strips in which longitudinally extending metallicstrips were embedded for the purpose of strengthening the reed, but thishas not proved to be very effective.

The present invention contemplates the use of grooved binding strips,and in conjunction therewith strengthening elements of a novelcharacter, which will be quite effective for the purpose of impartingconsiderably more rigidity to the reed than has heretofore beenobtained.

The nature and characteristic features of the present invention will bemore readily understood from the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View, portions being broken away for thepurpose of illustration, of a reed embodying the main features of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the upper portion of sucha reed;

Fig. 3 is a similar view, but illustrating a modified form of theinvention; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of a reinforcing member of thekind which is shown more particularly in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawingherein are illustrative merely and that various modifications andchanges may be made in the structure disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, in the particular embodiments of the inventiontherein shown, the reed of the present invention comprises a pluralityof suitably spaced dents 10, each preferably made of a thin flat stripof metal. The upper and lower ends of the dents extend between the flatinside faces of longitudinally extending wooden strips 11 ofsubstantially semi-circular cross-section. Each of the wooden strips 11is provided 2,901,004 Patented Aug. 25, 1959 with a longitudinallyextending groove 12 in its outer portion.

Each of the wooden strips is encased on its outer surface with acomplementally shaped reinforcing shell 13 formed of sheet metal. Theshaping of said reinforcing shell 13 is such that a portion 14 of thesame extends into the groove 12 in the wooden strip 11 which said shellencases.

The pitch impregnated cord or twine 15 which is used for the purpose ofspacing and securing the upper ends of the dents, and for binding thewooden strips of each pair to each other, is wrapped on the outside ofthe reinforcing shell 13 and passes through the dent spaces in the usualmanner.

Preferably, the upper and lower bound portions of the reed may beencased in a suitable envelope 16 of paper or textile material, althoughthis is not essential for the functioning of the reed, and said envelopeis usually only employed for the purpose of covering the pitchimpregnated twine or cord above referred to, so that the same will notfoul the cloth while the same is being woven.

If desired, the reinforcing shell 13 may be punctured at suitablelongitudinally spaced locations thereby to provide prongs 17, which maybe driven into the wooden strips 11, for the purpose of furtherstiffening the structure, or any other suitable fastening means of thisgeneral character may be employed for this purpose.

By the foregoing arrangement there is provided a reed which has beenfound in actual practice to be much more rigid and durable than thepitch band reeds heretofore available. Reeds made in accordance withthis invention have been found in practice to have a much greaterlongevity than the pitch band reeds of the ordinary kind.

I claim:

1. A reed for looms comprising a plurality of suitably spaced dents madeof thin flat strips of metal secured at their upper and lower endsbetween the flat inside faces of a pair of longitudinally extendingwooden strips each of substantially semi-circular cross-section, saidwooden strips having longitudinally extending grooves in their outsideportions, and each of said wooden strips being encased on its outersurface with a complementally shaped reinforcing shell of sheet metal,said reinforcing shells each having a portion extending into the grooveof the wooden strip with which it is associated, and each pair of saidwooden strips having a cord wrapped on the outside of the reinforcingshells thereof and passing through the spaces between the dents.

2. A reed for looms comprising a plurality of suitably spaced dents madeof thin fiat strips of metal secured at their upper and lower endsbetween the inside faces of a pair of longitudinally extending woodenstrips, said wooden strips each being encased on its outer surface witha complementally shaped metallic reinforcing shell, each pair of saidwooden strips having a cord wrapped on the outside of the reinforcingshells thereof and passing through the spaces between the dents, and thereinforcing shells having longitudinally spaced. prongs struck from themetal thereof and extending into the wooden strips.

3. A reed for looms comprising a plurality of suitably spaced dents madeof thin flat strips of metal secured at their upper and lower endsbetween the inside faces of a pair of longitudinally extending woodenstrips, said Wooden strips having longitudinally extending grooves intheir outside portions, and each of said wooden strips being encased onits outer surface with a complementally shaped metallic reinforcingshell, said enforcing shells each having a portion extending into thegroove of the wooden strip with which it is associated, each pair ofsaid wooden strips having a cord Wrapped on the outside of thereinforcing shells thereof and passing through the spaces between thedents, and the reinforcing shells having longitudinally spaced prongsstruck from the metal thereof and extendingninto the wooden strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS954,512 Gourdeau Apr. 12, 1910 2,180,201 Fish Nov. 14, 1939 FOREIGNPATENTS 424,213 Great Britain. Feb. 18, 1935 OTHER REFERENCES- TextileWorld, May 1951, page 157. relied on,

